Phoenix’s downtown core has undergone an economic and cultural rebirth in the past few years, adding sleek skyscrapers, an outdoor shopping center, restaurants, nightlife and hundreds of new residents.

But one piece of the development puzzle has remained elusive in the city’s heart: a big grocery store.

For many urbanites, the lack of a nearby supermarket is a daily hassle — they moved downtown to avoid commuting but find themselves driving out of the area for food. Their nearest grocer is a Safeway on the north side of Interstate 10, excluding convenience stores selling little if any fresh produce.

“A big goal of a lot of downtowners is to leave their car behind,” said Sean Sweat, an urban resident and advocate. “If someone can’t even grocery-shop without a car, that’s a problem. You need to be able to live, work and play in one place.”

Access to fresh foods is so lacking downtown that it has been labeled a “food desert” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meaning there’s little or no access to nutritious, affordable foods at a grocery store or large market. Restaurants and fast-food joints don’t cut it.

Eliminating urban food deserts has become a serious concern for policymakers and U.S. public-health officials, because low-income people and urban dwellers often can’t easily buy fruits, vegetables and grains.

Recent attempts to open a supermarket in downtown Phoenix have floundered, with the Oakville Grocery at CityScape and the Phoenix Public Market Urban Grocery and Wine Bar closing in the past year. The markets were the first to open in the neighborhood south of I-10 since the last supermarket closed in 1981.

Oakville, whose owner has faced a long string of financial and legal problems, was forced out by CityScape’s developer, RED Development, apparently for not making rent payments. The store, which offered pricey pre-prepared foods and some everyday pantry items, has been replaced by Chloe’s Corner, a bustling lunch counter.

It’s the second time efforts to open a market in CityScape have failed. An attempt to fill the space with a smaller version of an AJ’s Fine Foods fell victim to the recession.

Several months after Oakville’s departure, the Public Market, an offshoot of the biweekly farmers market still held at Central Avenue and Pierce Street, closed its doors. Those behind the market said it had faced financial problems and had a narrow appeal, with a smaller selection of local, organic produce and novelties.

“I think we were probably too much of a niche market,” said Dan Klocke, board president of the non-profit Community Food Connections, which ran the market. “(A grocery store) has to cater not only to people who live downtown but to people who work downtown.”

City officials said perhaps the most challenging hurdle to luring a major grocery store downtown has been population. The logic is simple: Without a large enough customer base, a supermarket cannot thrive, yet the city cannot attract many residents to the area if there aren’t adequate services.

“We need more people downtown and the services to go with it,” Mayor Greg Stanton said. “I think we’re well on our way. We want to change the way people perceive our downtown.”

The area has about 11,000 residents, and grocers need roughly 15,000 to sustain a larger store, according to the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, an influential non-profit that focuses on advancing the urban core.

“It’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation,” said David Roderique, president of the downtown partnership. “The population is not quite there yet, but we’re getting there.”

In place of a large grocer, several smaller operations are springing up to help satisfy residents hungry for a market. The experiments range from a vegan-only market in the planning stages to a corner market on Roosevelt Row.

Dubbed Bodega 420 (its building number), the market opened last summer in an old home near the center of the city’s arts community. Co-owner Adrian Fontes said the corner store aims to appeal to the diverse downtown community with its variety of items including local produce and dairy, dry goods and tobacco products.

Fontes said a market must be unique to succeed downtown, that a traditional chain won’t work in denser, urban neighborhoods. He said the bodega aims to capture residents’ desire for a locally owned store.

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